walsh



UNITED STATES PATENT EEicE.

JOHN W'ALSH, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR O F ON E-HALF TO JACOB FREDERICK GRETI'IER, OF SAME PLACE.

TROLLEY-PROTECTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 481,517, dated August 23, 1892.

Application filed December 23, 1391. Serial No. 416,269. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN WALSH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga, State of Ohio, have invented acertain newand useful Trolley-Protector; and I do hereby declare the following, with the accompanying drawings, to be a specification of my said invention.

My invention relates to means for preventing the trolley of electric motors in electricrailway systems where an overhead wire is used from springing up, so as to break the trolley or injure it when the trolley becomes disengaged from the trolley-wire.

The object of my invention is a mechanism which will automatically draw the trolley down when it becomes accidentaly disengaged from the trolley-wire.

With this object in view my invention consists in the mechanism herein described, and in the combination of parts therein, as described, and defined in the claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a broken section of a motor-car with my invention attached. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my device, partly in section, the front of the casing being removed, and showing the position of the parts as they remain before the trolley is displaced from the trolley-wire. Fig. 3 is a View of the same, showing the position of the parts after the trolley is displaced. Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the lines 030: of Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line y y of Fig. 3.

In my device, as illustrated, I is the bed, upon which the supports B and B are fixed. These supports may be of any form or construction adapted to support the mechanism constituting the device.

In the supports B and B are journaled shafts A and A. On the shaft A, outside the support, is fixed a winding drum or reel 0. A shaft A is also journaled in the support B. Upon the shaft A, within the support 13, is fixeda sprocket F, and outside said support is a gear-wheel D, fixed upon the shaft A. A pinionVis fixed upon the end of the shaft Aopposite the drum C and meshes with the gear D.

On the shaft A is fixed a disk E, having formed in its periphery a notch c, (said disk E being shown in the drawings as fixed upon the shaft A outside the hanger B,) and a sprocket F, fixed upon the shaft A within the support B. A flat link-chain G travels around said sprockets F and F. A spring II has one of its ends fixed to the chain G at g and its opposite end fixed to the bed I or other immovable object at h.

On the support B there isacatch R, hinged to said support, as illustrated. The catch Rv has its free end turned up and aloop 9" formed thereon, in which to fasten the check-rope O. Said catch R is adapted to drop into and normally engages the notch e of the disk E when the disk is turned with its notch 6 under the catch R. The pins S S on the support 13 prevent the catch R from havinglateral movement.

In the drawings, P represents a broken section of the car.

K is the car-dash.

L is the trolley.

M is the overhead trolley-wire, and N is the trolley-rope or flexible connection between the trolley and the winding drum or reel C. The trolley-rope has its lower end fastened to the drum C at c, and should be long enough to have nearly one wind around the drum when the rope is in its normal position. A check-rope connection 0 connects the catch R and the trolley by being fastened to the trolley-rope N at R, the opposite end of the check-rope 0 being attached to the catch R in the loop 1". The check-rope 0 should be shorter than that portion of the trolley-rope N between the point it where the check-rope is attachedto it and the drum C. The check 0 could be attached to the trolley direct instead of being connected therewith through the trolley-rope N; but the particular connection illustrated is preferable.

In use the trolley-rope N is pulled out from the drum or reel C until the diskE is turned, so that the catch R drops into the notch e. The spring II will be drawn open and all the parts will be in the position shown in Fig 2. The mechanism of the device being in this position, the trolley-rope N is loose and will allow the trolley L to bear against the wire M. Should the trolleyL become disengaged from the wire M it will spring up and jerk the catch R out of the notch e, the

spring H will contract and, being attached a one end to the chain G,will turn or actuate the mechanism, so as to cause the trolley-rope N to wind up on the drum 0, and thus pull down the trolley L.

T is a casing for the device, and T is a lid suitably secured thereto.

15 1s a hole, through which passes the trolley-rope N, and t is a hole, through which passes the upright of the catch R.

The device is fastened to the dash K by means of hangers or by other suitable means.

By changing the relative sizes of the gearwheel D and the pinion V the trolley-rope N can be given more or less Wind.

My device may take on various modificatlons and changes in details of form and arrangement without departing from the spirit of my invention; and I do not, therefore, limit myself to the details of form and arrangement shown and described.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. In a device of the character described, a drum and a sprocket mounted upon separate shafts, driving connection between said drum and sprocket, a sprocket and a disk having a notch cut in its periphery mounted upon another shaft, a link-chain around said sprockets, a spring having one end attached to said chain and the opposite end fixed to an immovable object, and a catch adapted to engage the notch in the disk, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a device of the character described, a support having a drum and a sprocket journaled therein, driving connection between said drum and sprocket, a support having journaled therein a shaft carrying a sprocket, and a disk having a notch in its periphery, driving connection between said sprockets, a spring having one end attached to the driving connection between the sprockets and its opposite end fixed to an immovable object, a catch, which normally engages the notch in the disk, and means for disengaging the catch from said notch, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination, in a device of the character described, of a trolley, a winding drum or reel, flexible connection between the trolley and winding drum or reel, withmeans for turning the drum or reel to wind said flexible connection thereon, which means consists in a disk having a notch in its periphery, a catch, which normally engages said notch, an auxiliary check connection 0 between the catch and the trolley, driving connection between the disk and winding drum or reel, and a spring to actuate said driving mechanism when the catch is disengaged from the notch in the disk, substantially as shown and described. v

4. The combination, in adevice of the character described, of a winding drum or reel, a disk having a notch in its periphery, driving connection between the winding drum or reel and the disk, and an auxiliary check connection 0, a catch to engage the notch in the disk, the catch being adapted to be disengaged from said notch by the action of the trolley and the check connection 0, and aspring adapted to actuate the driving mechanism between the disk and the drum or reel when the catch shall have been disengaged from the notch in the disk, substantially as shown and described.

5. In a device for automatically lowering a disengaged trolley-wheel, the combination of a suitable support, as I, standards, as B and B, shafts A and A journaled in the support B, and a shaft A, journaled in standard B the shaft A, carrying a drum 0, and a pinion V, shaft A carrying a sprocket F and gearwheel D, and the shaft A, carrying a notched disk E and sprocket F, a suitable driving mechanism between the sprocket-wheels F and F for operating the drum 0 and the disk E, a catch R, connected with the trolley and adapted to be lowered into the notch in the disk E and prevent the disk from turning while the trolley is engaged with the wire, but which will become automatically disengaged therefrom the moment the trolley leaves the wire, and a spring, as H, connected to the drum in such a manner as to automatically wind up the operating-trolley rope onto the drum, and thereby lower the trolley, substantially as and for the purpose described.

JOHN WALSH. Witnesses:

MARTIN W. SANDERS. E. A. CRABLE. 

